Category Archives: photography

After yesterday’s disappointment with A&M Photo World, I’ve been contemplating whether I would really use my new toy, once I ever manage to save up a grand to get it. I don’t think this is a case of ‘sour grapes’—it’s more of the usual process I go through when I’m about to buy a big-ticket item.

Finally, after Sky’s year-end incentive payout, I had enough money to get the camera I’ve been wanting: the Nikon D70. The best part? I’d found an ad in Popular Photography magazine, in the back half where all the camera stores have their catalog/ads, that A&M Photo World had the Nikon D70 kit (kit = camera body + lens) for—get this—$649.00.

!!!

Retail on those is usually upward of a grand! I was so stoked.

So, tonight, I transferred some money from my savings over to my checking, put the much-desired electronic into my shopping cart, entered my debit card info, and almost pushed the Checkout button. But first… a coupon code field? Hmm. That’s my cue to Google the name of the place and “coupon code” and see what I come up with.

I had noticed that their accessories were a touch overpriced—I’ll need a CompactFlash card to use the camera, after all—but it seems that your prized item suddenly becomes backordered when you opt not to purchase said overpriced accessories.

It wasn’t hard to make a decision. Highly disappointed as I am, I’m going to put my money back into savings and wait until I’ve saved enough to buy my new toy from a reputable dealer, like B&H or Adorama or even find one on eBay.

I’m currently working on adjusting and resizing the 30+ digital pics we took over the weekend. Until then, here’s a pic I just took of Aaron displaying his two prized purchases: his moogle hat and his Mr. Sparkle t-shirt.

This morning, around 10:30, the fog rolled in. It happened to get brighter outside the window, in my periphery, so I turned to look. And the first thought in my head was, ?I can?t wait to go to break so I can photograph that!? I carry my Lomo in my purse or my jacket pocket almost everywhere now, so I?m almost always ready for photo ops like this.

As it turns out, I couldn?t even wait till breaktime. I pulled out my Lomo, pressed it up against the window to avoid glass glare, and took a shot. Then, about fifteen minutes later, I took my break upstairs in the quiet room (as usual) and took a couple photos from the second floor windows.

It?s gotten to the point where I don?t care who sees me and thinks I?m a dork for bringing my camera to work. Everyone in my department knows that I have my little plastic camera with me wherever I go, and I take pictures of weird things (like when the squirrel outside jumped up on the windowsill). Plus, the chintzy sound of the Lomo?s shutter has made it possible for me to take photos of people who don?t realize they?ve been photographed, not even after the shutter fires—maybe they thought it was a door latching shut. 🙂

Some inventive folks have come up with CameraMail, in which one assembles a disposable camera on an oversized postcard with the instructions that postal workers are to take photographs during the camera’s trip cross-country.

Remember how I said after Halloween that Mei likes pumpkin? Well, here are the pictures to prove it:

And, while I’m at it, here are a few more lomographs I’ve neglected to post:

This was the wintry view that greeted me from the window one day while reading in our second-floor Quiet Room at work.

One of my co-workers turned 50 the day after Thanksgiving, so a few of the girls in the office decorated the day before Thanksgiving (after he left work for the day), to make his birthday that much more memorable.